Help, mask seal reeks of baby shampoo!

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Wed Jul 26, 2006 9:44 am

Hi folks. I'm new to CPAP, and since I recently passed the one-week mark, I figured it was time to clean the silicone seal on my F&P HC431 full-face mask.

The manual said "warm soapy water" and then rinse, but I'd heard here that people use baby shampoo. Out came the Johnson and Johnson baby shampoo, lathered it up, rinsed it well, let it air-dry till evening.

Evening comes. I assemble the mask, put it on, and get smacked in the face with J&J baby shampoo smell.

I rinse thoroughly and let dry again. Still there. Wash with Ivory and rinse well, let dry again. Still there, just a little less. It's now 2AM and I just want to sleep, so I put the Medium seal aside and grab the Large, which hasn't been "stinkified".

I woke up this morning with a decent night of sleep, but my AHI went from 2.9 to 3.8 because the Large apparently doesn't seal as well to my face as the Medium does.

Ideas on how to get the smell out of the Medium seal, anyone? Tons of rinsing isn't cutting it, and neither is washing with Ivory followed by lots of rinsing. Is there any product that'll get the baby shampoo smell out of the seal, or must I buy a new seal from the DME or cpap.com?

Thanks all. Luckily I can keep using the Large seal in the meantime, and still stay under AHI=5.

Goofproof · Post by **Goofproof** » Wed Jul 26, 2006 10:01 am

They use tomatoe juice to clean skunk smell off dogs, do you have something against babies? Grapefruit juice is one of the strongest smells, if you like that, it might pull the babies off of your mask.

Don't use any smell you don't like to wash your equiptment. Jim

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WNJ · Post by **WNJ** » Wed Jul 26, 2006 10:15 am

Rinsing with a solution of white vinegar and water (about 1:3 ratio) should remove the offending smell. The vinegar smell doesn’t seem to linger.

I use the Equate brand baby shampoo from WalMart. The smell lasts only one night and I don’t find it offensive.

Wayne

krousseau · Post by **krousseau** » Wed Jul 26, 2006 10:25 am

You might have to soak it in that vinegar solution-but not too long-take it out every 5 minutes rinse & sniff until you know how long it takes. I did find unscented baby shampoo at a health food place. Somewhat more expensive but I don't use much and it will last about 8 months (8 oz bottle)

kurtchan · Post by **kurtchan** » Wed Jul 26, 2006 11:14 am

I'm sold on the Seventh Generation dishwashing detergent. It meets all of the mask manufacturers requirements -- no perfume, no moisterizer and no anti-bacterial agent. I found it in the supermarket and just a tiny drop fills the sink with suds.

Good luck!

Kurtchan

Snoozin' Bluezzz · Post by **Snoozin' Bluezzz** » Wed Jul 26, 2006 12:07 pm

I'll 2nd the vinegar soak solution.

I don't think it matters how long you leave it in.

1 part white vinegar to 2 parts water does the trick.

If you rinse well the vinegar smell is neglible to zero.

David

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Wed Jul 26, 2006 12:17 pm

I'm the original poster who started the topic, and I want to THANK YOU folks! Never thought of vinegar, never knew it could eradicate lingering shampoo smells, and didn't know it was safe for silicone.

Excellent, I'll give it a try tonight. Thanks guys!

Snoozin' Bluezzz · Post by **Snoozin' Bluezzz** » Wed Jul 26, 2006 1:41 pm

Anonymous wrote:I'm the original poster who started the topic, and I want to THANK YOU folks! Never thought of vinegar, never knew it could eradicate lingering shampoo smells, and didn't know it was safe for silicone.

Excellent, I'll give it a try tonight. Thanks guys!

There have been very lengthy threads about the safety, or lack thereof, of various cleaning/soaking solutions and I believe the general conclusion has been that vinegar does no significant harm and probably works reasonably well. I know it has worked very well for me both in dealing with new masks (and residual odors) and ongoing cleaning. I don't like the smell of most soaps on the mask/interface and vinegar has made that moot for me.

David

MandoJohnny · Post by **MandoJohnny** » Wed Jul 26, 2006 1:49 pm

I tried that vinegar suggestion, but the only kind of vinegar we had in the house was balsamic. It seemed to work all right, but last night I had this horrible nightmare where I had to eat my way out of a giant salad. Is this normal?

WNJ · Post by **WNJ** » Wed Jul 26, 2006 2:10 pm

Maybe not, but it should be very healthy.

Wayne

Sleepless in St. Louis · Post by **Sleepless in St. Louis** » Wed Jul 26, 2006 3:07 pm

Unless it was a taco salad.

path2others · Post by **path2others** » Wed Jul 26, 2006 8:38 pm

I never cared for the smell of baby shampoo also. I found something called "Head to Toe" baby wash which is also made by J&J. It doesn't seem to have any fragrance at all and is doing a good job on the mask and equipment.

birdshell · Post by **birdshell** » Wed Jul 26, 2006 8:47 pm

MandoJohnny wrote:I tried that vinegar suggestion, but the only kind of vinegar we had in the house was balsamic. It seemed to work all right, but last night I had this horrible nightmare where I had to eat my way out of a giant salad. Is this normal?

What? No tarragon vinegar? It tastes great, and doesn't seem to cause the nightmares!

Or, one could fashion a mask from vegetables....

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Thu Jul 27, 2006 8:33 am

Tried the vinegar. Soaked in 1:3 vinegar:water solution for 10 minutes, rinsed, soaked it again for good measure, rinsed again. Smell gone, and no apparent change in seal integrity or elasticity or firmness, at least not any I could tell from casual examination. Upon using the seal I had some problems with leaks, but that's because I had the headgear adjusted for a larger seal I'd been forced to use the night before. I'm sure when I readjust the headgear better, it'll be fine. Thanks guys!

birdshell wrote:Or, one could fashion a mask from vegetables...

"Perhaps if we built a large wooden badger..." =)

Help, mask seal reeks of baby shampoo!

Help, mask seal reeks of baby shampoo!

There is more than one kind of vinegar to clean a mask....

Re: There is more than one kind of vinegar to clean a mask..